After receiving the Linyuan Wooden Bird, Cao Chunhua did not dare to delay. She handed over the matters at hand and quickly set off for the Liangjiang base.

As soon as he approached the station, Cao Chunhua felt a murderous aura coming from the damp and cold air, with a faint smell of gunpowder. He straightened his back involuntarily, stopped singing, stopped making faces, and just straightened up like a human being. The sentries here were strictly guarded, and all the officers and soldiers on duty did not even whisper to each other. There was silence everywhere, except for the shouts of killing from the routine training not far away.

Cao Chunhua rubbed her eyes and for a moment thought she saw another Xuantie Camp.

As soon as he approached the station, a guard on duty stopped him. Cao Chunhua did not dare to joke under Gu Yun's military power, and hurriedly took out the pass issued by the Military Affairs Office in an orderly manner. The average age of the guards in that row was only eighteen or nineteen years old. After checking that the pass was correct, they stepped out one person without flattery or impoliteness and led him to the general's tent. Cao Chunhua looked back and saw that the guard team had filled the vacant position in the blink of an eye, and there was no sign of a gap at all.

The guard leading the way was a little shy at first, but later he heard that Cao Chunhua had dealt with the northern barbarians with Gu Yun, so he started to talk a little: "The Westerners can't get any advantage from the Marshal, and they can't win on the frontal battlefield. These days they have been circling around several ports in Liangjiang and constantly harassing us. I heard from the centurion that they might want to compete with us for wealth. Sir, isn't it said that my Daliang Dynasty is vast and rich in resources? Why are the foreigners so rich too?"

"Don't call me Sir, I'm just an errand boy," Cao Chunhua waved her hand and continued, "I don't understand these things either, but I've heard Mr. Du talk about them. Look at their warships, they are all designed for sailing to the open sea and fighting naval battles. Weren't Jiangnan Port and Dagu Port blown open by a single cannon? Our army is like this, not to mention those tiny countries on the sea. They flatten a place and then 'eat' it up completely, plundering local materials, opening factories that can't be operated at home, forcing prisoners to work for them, and extracting their blood - over time, they naturally become rich."

The guard was silent for a moment, and led Cao Chunhua all the way to Gu Yun's tent. The guard at the door went in to report. The young guard took this opportunity to say to Cao Chunhua: "Sir, I heard the old soldiers talk about the naval garrisons in the two rivers in the past. They said that when they were under General Zhao, they had more pay and less work. The daily training was easier than the garrisons in other places. When they were not on duty, they could stroll in the misty rain and apricot blossoms on both sides of the river. They felt that they were born at the wrong time. If it were a peaceful time, they might have become a 'military master'."

Cao Chunhua turned back to look at him, and the young guard smiled a little embarrassedly and said, "After hearing what you said today, I feel that I am short-sighted. I think people who can hold swords are always luckier than pigs and dogs being driven by others."

At this moment, a soldier from the general's tent came out and said, "Master Cao, the general invites you in."

Cao Chunhua came back to her senses and stepped into the commander's tent. She immediately saw that Gu Yun was wearing a particularly coquettish glass mirror on his nose. The carved and hollowed-out patterns behind the lens dominated the scene, winding from his nose to his temples, almost covering half of his face. It looked more like a mask than a glass mirror.

Cao Chunhua was stunned, and her first reaction was, "What's wrong with the Marshal's eyes?"

But the general was talking about serious matters in his tent, so Cao Chunhua didn't dare to go forward to disturb him.

Shen Yi and Yao Zhen were both there. Yao Zhen was reading a letter from a Westerner: "The foreigners said that they came to ask sincerely for the sake of friendship and harmony. Can the four counties in the south of the Yangtze River be designated as a trading area, allowing the garrison to govern themselves and protect the interests of foreign merchants? In the future, this area can become a link for maritime trade between the two sides... Oh, they also said that they love this land deeply and don't want this beautiful fertile land to be ravaged by war again."

Shen Yi: "Yesterday there were three counties, why is there another one added today?"

Yao Zhen looked at him helplessly: "Maybe it's because of 'deep love'?"

"Fuck him." Gu Yun had a gentle and coquettish look on his face, but his words did not sound kind, "Why are you loving me blindly? Is it his turn to love me?"

Shen Yi: “…”

It was simply impossible to respond.

Cao Chunhua couldn't help laughing out loud.

Shen Yi waved at him and said, "Xiao Cao is here! I've been waiting for you for a long time. Come over and tell the master when our 'Iron Worm' will be completed."

"Ah, Mr. Shen, you are so rude... It will be done soon," Cao Chunhua replied cheerfully, "What we lack the most is manpower. The northern sections have been basically completed, and the southern section is even better. There is no need to stop work in winter. Once the sections are connected, the steam train will be able to run from the capital to the riverside. I heard from Mr. Du that if everything goes well, it will be completed before the end of the year at the earliest - by the way, why is the Marshal wearing a glass mirror?"

"Isn't it beautiful?" Gu Yun smiled at him, his peach-like eyes almost flying up, and said shamelessly, "I broke one a few days ago, so I asked someone to replace it with a frame this time. I specially asked a famous craftsman from Yangzhou Prefecture to carve it personally. I really couldn't bear to hide this beauty, so I had to wear it out every day for everyone to see."

Shen Yi felt a stomachache and said, "Oh my great commander, you'd better hide it well. We mortals are not worthy of such beauty."

Gu Yun ignored him, turned his head to let Cao Chunhua see him clearly from all angles, and said without thinking: "If it doesn't work, I will go into battle myself and use the beauty trap. I'm afraid a million strong army can't handle it, but thirty or twenty thousand should be no problem, right, Xiao Cao?"

Cao Chunhua's face turned red in an instant.

Shen Yi and Yao Zhen turned their faces away, unable to look straight at it.

"You've come just in time," Gu Yun jumped up, put his arm around the blushing Cao Chunhua's shoulders, and pushed him to the sand table, "I just happen to have something that I can't do without you, so I want you to run an errand for me, please do me a favor."

Whether or not Marshal Gu's ingenious "beauty trap" would work on Westerners is another matter, but it was very effective on Cao Chunhua. His face immediately turned even redder, and hot sweat broke out on the back of his neck. He felt that no matter what Gu Yun said to him, he would agree to it "yes, yes, yes".

When Cao Chunhua came out of the general's tent in a daze, she was suddenly shocked - wait, didn't Prince Yan send her to take care of the marshal?

How come he had just arrived and was fooled by the Marshal to go to the southwest border in just a few words?

Just now, Gu Yun had specifically told him that this matter was confidential, and that he should keep it to himself once he left the general's tent, and not even inform the Military Affairs Office...

How is he going to explain this when he gets back?

Shen Yi personally arranged for the distraught Cao Chunhua, and then turned back to look for Gu Yun. Yao Zhen had already gone back, and the lights in the general's tent were very dim. Gu Yun crossed his long legs on a bench next to him, folded his hands in front of his chest, and wondered what he was thinking - since he began to lose his hearing, he no longer had to look around and listen to everything, and it was easy for him to focus on his own thoughts.

The cool breeze brought by Shen Yi's opening of the door startled him, and Gu Yun looked up at him and asked, "Is it arranged?"

Shen Yi nodded and asked, "Do you really want to use Xiao Cao, or are you afraid that he will tip off His Royal Highness Prince Yan?"

"Am I such a person who can't distinguish between public and private affairs?" Gu Yun raised his eyebrows, but before Shen Yi could apologize, he said, "Both."

Shen Yi: “…”

I've never seen someone who separates public and private matters so clearly.

"Once we start the war, there will definitely be changes in the court. He shouldn't have been too worried about his situation, but now he has no choice. I'd better not let this small mistake of mine distract him. In addition, Xiao Cao really needs to find someone who is flexible and trustworthy to handle this matter," Gu Yun said, "Doesn't the old man on the opposite side think he is awesome for fighting all the way across the sea? I will let him see the difference between a general and a commander."

Shen Yi was torn in two by his words: the left half, as a former member of the Black Iron Camp, wanted to follow his commander to the death, and the right half was disgusted by Gu Yun's sincere and shameless words, and got goose bumps - once again speechless, he could only beg: "Zi Xi, even if you want to go blind, can you change it to a normal glass mirror?"

Gu Yun put on his armor and prepared to go out to patrol the camp. The commander personally patrolled the camp every day, which was also a feature of the Liangjiang Camp, even if he was blind.

"I won't," he answered seriously, "I want to follow the example of Lanling Prince."

Shen Yi thought that this bastard might have transferred him here not to share his worries, but just to play around!

After Cao Chunhua arrived in Jiangnan, she only had time to write a letter to Chang Geng, saying that General Gu was busy with military affairs and bullying Mr. Shen every day, and there was nothing wrong with him. After that, there was no news. It was unknown whether he was sent out by Gu Yun to do things, or simply "forgot to think of his hometown". Chang Geng thought of this man's love affair, and it was impossible not to feel sour in his heart, but he felt relieved at the same time - no news was good news, and since Cao Chunhua was busy being a love affair all day long, Gu Yun must be as comfortable as Monk Liangran said.

At the same time, Chen Qingxu arrived in the capital around the Double Ninth Festival.

Chang Geng had been working non-stop in the Grand Council for more than a month, and he took a rare half-day leave to go back and receive her.

When Chang Geng first heard Gu Yun send him a message saying that he had found a copy of the "Goddess's Secret Art" in Calais Yinghuo, he was really excited and nervous for a while. He felt like an old goblin who had been hiding in the mortal world and heard that he could become a mortal. But after returning to Beijing, he was preparing and scheming like a storm, while walking a tightrope to deal with various political enemies. He really had no time to take care of other things. It was not until he met Chen Qingxu that he picked up his old thoughts.

Chen Qingxu never kept people in suspense. When she saw Chang Geng, she didn't even say hello. She just came up to him and said, "It can be cured."

Just these two words were enough to pin Chang Geng to the spot for a long while, until he had used up all the air he had been holding in his chest, and then he slowly let it out, calmly asking, "Can a deep-rooted disease that has been with you since you were born be cured?"

Chen Qingxu nodded: "Okay."

Chang Geng's hands, hidden in the wide sleeves of his court robe, twitched violently, but his voice was still calm and compelling: "People say that the evil god combines the flesh and blood of two people into one, then I was born as two people, how... Miss Chen can also be separated?"

Chen Qingxu smiled, which was rare for her: "It will take a while, and Your Highness may have to suffer."

Chang Geng's heart was in his throat: "Then Zixi..."

Chen Qingxu: "There are relevant records in the Goddess's secret technique, but the medicine system is different from ours. I still have a lot of things to verify. You have to wait until I have sorted out the clues."

Chang Geng took a deep breath, his heartbeat almost bursting his chest, and forgot what day it was. He turned around and wanted to walk out, wishing he could let Gu Yun know as soon as possible. He took two steps but stopped abruptly, slapped himself on the forehead, and thought to himself: "I'm confused, I can't let him know. The swords on the battlefield are blind. If he relaxes his mind, what if something happens?"

But there was no place to share, so His Royal Highness Prince Yan secretly did something that made people blush. He settled Miss Chen, walked back to the Marquis' Mansion at night, stayed in Gu Yun's room and wrote a letter, but did not send it. After drying, he pressed it under Gu Yun's pillow.

This still did not satisfy him, so he dug out all the letters written by Gu Yun that he had secretly collected, and lying on the bed, he went over all the words that man said in his mind, and for his own amusement, he pieced together a "reply" from Gu Yun, performing the monologue with great gusto.

Over the next few days, Chang Geng found Fang Qin much more pleasing to the eye whenever he saw him during the day.

Unfortunately, Fang Qin's life was not very easy.

These days, the impeachment memorials on Li Feng's desk are piled up to two feet thick. If you look through them carefully, you will feel that Yan Wang is simply blamed for everything. Even if he coughs on the road, someone will accuse him of deceiving the emperor with his coughing posture. However, in sharp contrast, from the Military Affairs Office down, the new nobles in the court, whether they are dragged down by affairs or simply lying dormant, have changed their previous tit-for-tat and started to unilaterally give in.

Li Feng's attitude is that he has no attitude, especially when he meets some people who take advantage of their seniority and mention the previous emperor or even Emperor Wu.

The person who was most anxious about this situation was not the Military Affairs Office, which was treading on thin ice, but Fang Qin.

Fang Qin was actually very opposed to this rush of action: "The emperor is very clear in his mind. Everyone, if you are aggressive at this time, aren't you afraid of losing the emperor's favor?"

At that time, someone replied: "Lord Fang always talks about the emperor's will, but his vision is limited. Back then, the late emperor was just an insignificant son of a prince from a branch of the Li family. How could he enter the palace so smoothly? When supporting the late emperor, my ancestor stood up against all odds and took the lead. What a great contribution! The red book and iron certificate are still in my house. Why, now that their descendants have firmly established the throne for generations, they want to put away the bow and the bird after the bird is dead?"

Another person said, "If we are really forced into a desperate situation, why not just ask for the late emperor's spirit tablet? Would the emperor dare to defy the world and ignore the laws of our ancestors?"

Fang Qin took a deep breath and said in a low voice: "Gentlemen, please be careful with your words!"

Everyone gave him face and kept silent for a while, but their expressions did not seem very convinced.

The aristocratic families and nobles of Daliang, regardless of the size of the official position of the head of the family, all have backgrounds that can confuse people's family trees. Many of their ancestors had in-laws and joined forces with each other. Their ancestors have been inseparable from the royal power struggles for generations. The family has prospered to this day because at least every generation has stood on the right side. Over time, they have the illusion that "the emperor was supported by my family in the first place."

Normally, they think that the Fang family is honorable and are willing to listen to him. But when a real fight breaks out, even though the Fang family is secretly the leader of the aristocratic families, it is difficult to really and effectively suppress anyone - everyone is a relative, no one is nobler than anyone else, so why should the Fang family have the final say on matters involving their own lives and vital interests?

Fang Qin had no choice but to persuade them with emotion and reason, saying: "The emperor is ambitious and will not tolerate anyone challenging his majesty. The massive invasion of the Westerners this time inevitably reminds him of the siege of the capital. If he had hesitated before, he must be determined to fight this war now. Why should we go through this trouble at this time and risk the reputation of bringing disaster to the country and the people? I also ask you to put yourself in their shoes and think about it!"

He sighed and slowed down his voice, "If we can endure this for a while, when the war is over and the country is at peace, the Military Affairs Office will inevitably face reorganization or disbanding. Those people may not be willing to accept this and will definitely take some action. By then, won't the emperor see that they have stretched their hands too far? Think about the drum-beating order and the gold-melting order back then, and you will know what the emperor really intends to do. Recruiting these lowly merchants at this time is just a stopgap measure. When they are no longer useful, will the emperor still protect them? I'm afraid that by then even Gu Yun's black iron tiger talisman will have to be handed back obediently. It's impossible for the small Military Affairs Office to cover the sky with one hand forever."

Fang Qin thought he had spoken earnestly and clearly.

However, not all the princes and nobles in the room would look forward. The one who just boasted that he had a red-lettered iron certificate asked, "Lord Fang has a point, but it's too idealistic. You said the war will be over? When will it be over? It will take him one or two years, or ten or twenty years. Are we all going to swallow our anger until the earth covers our heads?"

Fang Qin actually couldn't stand this mob. A large number of them were useless and conceited. They deserved to be caught in the act, but he couldn't express it - because the fundamental reason he brought these people together was profit. No matter how loudly they shouted about their ideal of "serving the country and the people" every day, no one would pay any attention.

"Let's not talk about being angry. If we really fight for 10 to 20 years, our national strength will be exhausted. Not to mention others, the emperor will not agree. It is impossible for it to last that long." Fang Qin had to change his words and said, "I'm telling you something from the bottom of my heart. With the status of Prince Yan, as long as he doesn't rebel, no one can put him to death. But with your family backgrounds, as long as the emperor is on the throne and as long as we don't lose our composure, who can shake our foundation?"

This sounds much more pleasant than "No one can kill you unless you seek death" - although it means the same thing - and it also hits the sore spot of these officials. Fang Qin is worthy of being the number one person in the Daliang family. He has dealt with this group of people for decades and is very experienced.

Sure enough, with his efforts, the court became much more peaceful. The two factions seemed to have temporarily stopped fighting, all conflicts were moved under the table, and Daliang ushered in a brief period of peace for a few months.

For more than three months——

Then an accident happened that ruined all Fang Qin's efforts.